Is it 3500 calories over your calories to gain a pound ?

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  • connorlauren3638
    connorlauren3638 Posts: 76 Member
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    My current week . Ive been 2662 calories over for the week . Is it 3500 calories over in a week to gain 1lb !?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    The general rule is 3500 calories over your maintenance calorie level, or TDEE, will result in a 1 lb gain.

    When you set up MFP, you put in a goal, was it weight loss? How much are you looking to lose, and what rate of loss did you select? Similarly, the 3500 calorie number is what weekly deficit you need to create in order to lose 1 lb, so let's assume you selected "lose 1 lb/week" as your goal. MFP provides you a daily calorie target which is a 500 cal deficit from your maintenance (NEAT) level. If you hit that number, and are accurately tracking your calories, then you should lose at that rate.

    From the screen shot you are showing, you are currently above your weekly goal by 2662 calories, but if you selected lose 1 lb/week, then you are still in an overall deficit for the week as you have a weekly deficit of 3500 built into your goal. That means that your current week would be a 838 cal deficit and you would potentially still lose 0.25 lbs this week.

    Curious about the big swings in your numbers though, some days you are way over goal, some days way under. That often happens, especially with holiday weeks like this one, but it can result in more fluctuation on the scale because of water retention, etc.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    Off topic-but what are you looking at, that's giving you weekly totals (like what's the picture of?) That's really cool!
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    Off topic-but what are you looking at, that's giving you weekly totals (like what's the picture of?) That's really cool!

    It's in the App, under "Nutrition" at the bottom of the diary section. I have an iPhone so I don't know if it's the same for Android, etc.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    Off topic-but what are you looking at, that's giving you weekly totals (like what's the picture of?) That's really cool!

    It's in the App, under "Nutrition" at the bottom of the diary section. I have an iPhone so I don't know if it's the same for Android, etc.

    Same on Android. Just different colours (green and red).

    Need to look at Nutrition>calories>week view>net

  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    Thanks-I'm using MFP on a desktop so I was really confused lol. I go by weekly totals so that's a really cool option :)
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    Off topic-but what are you looking at, that's giving you weekly totals (like what's the picture of?) That's really cool!

    It's in the App, under "Nutrition" at the bottom of the diary section. I have an iPhone so I don't know if it's the same for Android, etc.

    Similar on the web as well (find it in the Reports tab) and select to view Cals or net cals for whatever time-period (macros should be there as well) --> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports
  • connorlauren3638
    connorlauren3638 Posts: 76 Member
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    Ok thanks for the replies . My goal to loose weight is 1200 calories a day as im only 4ft 11 . I often find that some days I go way over but now that I know that know that even will the calories over for the week (that I showed above) i won't gain . I feel better
  • connorlauren3638
    connorlauren3638 Posts: 76 Member
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    That's correct isn't it ?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    connorlauren3638 wrote: »
    Ok thanks for the replies . My goal to loose weight is 1200 calories a day as im only 4ft 11 . I often find that some days I go way over but now that I know that know that even will the calories over for the week (that I showed above) i won't gain . I feel better

    Well, two comments here.

    1200 is the lowest calorie target that MFP will provide for you, no matter your stats or what rate of loss you choose. Since you are quite petite, MFP will assume that your maintenance calories excluding exercise are also relatively low (judging by your profile picture you may already be at a healthy weight). So lets say MFP thinks your maintenance cals are 1400, but you choose a rate of loss of 1 lb/week, which should give you a 500 cal deficit from your maintenance number. 1400-500 = 900 but MFP won't go that low (and shouldn't), so it gives you the default 1200. That's only a 200 cal deficit from your maintenance, and a weekly deficit of 200x7 = 1400. If those hypothetical numbers I wrote were accurate, and your diary is showing that you are above target by 2600, it is possible that you could actually gain slightly this week. What is your current weight and how much weight are you trying to lose? Did you select 1 lb/week as your rate of loss? If you have less than 20 lbs to lose then 0.5 lb/week would be appropriate.

    Secondly - your statement that you shouldn't gain is based off the assumption that you are logging accurately. Are you using a food scale for weighing all solid foods? A lot of people underestimate the amount of calories they are actually eating so again, if you are underestimating AND you are exceeding your goal, it's possible that you could gain.

    That said - it really isn't good to obsess over the numbers on a daily/weekly basis. It is the trend over time that matters. Make sure you have reasonable goals, that you are logging accurately, and be consistent. These are the most important things for long term success, in my opinion.



  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    Because you are short, so am I, go into your goals and see what your maintenance is and compare the numbers. 500 less a day will give you a 1 lbs a week loss.

    Sometimes if one is short and within the normal bmi range and just wanting to lose 'vanity' pounds one is given 1200 cals for a 1lbs deficit request when they will in actuality only lose a portion of a pound. This is because MFP does not go below 1200 cals.

    Ie: at 5'1 and 120 lbs even though I had 1200 cals to lose 1lbs a week my loss was .75lbs because my maintenance calories were only slightly higher than the 1200 cals.

    To get to my goal weight I had to just stick to the 1200 and lose less and less each week as my deficit got closer to my maintenance.

    Basically you have the concept correct.

    Cheers, h.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    edited December 2016
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    I got this from your profile...

    Current weight 8st 13.5 ( 30/9/16)
    Trialing calorie counting for 1 month
    1200 daily
    Goal weight 8st

    If you only want to lose 13 lbs then you should really be at a .5lb/week deficit.

    I ran your numbers through Scooby's TDEE calculator and at sedentary, your TDEE is about 1500 calories. You won't be losing a pound a week, even at 1200 calories. Obviously, if you are more active, you can eat more and a 20% deficit from a low TDEE can be hard to maintain.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    You can play with the numbers on this calculator to get a better idea.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    connorlauren3638 wrote: »
    Ok thanks for the replies . My goal to loose weight is 1200 calories a day as im only 4ft 11 . I often find that some days I go way over but now that I know that know that even will the calories over for the week (that I showed above) i won't gain . I feel better

    Well, two comments here.

    1200 is the lowest calorie target that MFP will provide for you, no matter your stats or what rate of loss you choose. Since you are quite petite, MFP will assume that your maintenance calories excluding exercise are also relatively low (judging by your profile picture you may already be at a healthy weight). So lets say MFP thinks your maintenance cals are 1400, but you choose a rate of loss of 1 lb/week, which should give you a 500 cal deficit from your maintenance number. 1400-500 = 900 but MFP won't go that low (and shouldn't), so it gives you the default 1200. That's only a 200 cal deficit from your maintenance, and a weekly deficit of 200x7 = 1400. If those hypothetical numbers I wrote were accurate, and your diary is showing that you are above target by 2600, it is possible that you could actually gain slightly this week. What is your current weight and how much weight are you trying to lose? Did you select 1 lb/week as your rate of loss? If you have less than 20 lbs to lose then 0.5 lb/week would be appropriate.

    Secondly - your statement that you shouldn't gain is based off the assumption that you are logging accurately. Are you using a food scale for weighing all solid foods? A lot of people underestimate the amount of calories they are actually eating so again, if you are underestimating AND you are exceeding your goal, it's possible that you could gain.

    That said - it really isn't good to obsess over the numbers on a daily/weekly basis. It is the trend over time that matters. Make sure you have reasonable goals, that you are logging accurately, and be consistent. These are the most important things for long term success, in my opinion.



    To add to this, more food/calories often results in fluid retention as well as more inherent waste in your system...it's very possible to actually see a gain on the scale, but that doesn't mean it's fat...body weight is made up of many different things...only one of those things is fat.
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    connorlauren3638 wrote: »
    Ok thanks for the replies . My goal to loose weight is 1200 calories a day as im only 4ft 11 . I often find that some days I go way over but now that I know that know that even will the calories over for the week (that I showed above) i won't gain . I feel better

    Well, two comments here.

    1200 is the lowest calorie target that MFP will provide for you, no matter your stats or what rate of loss you choose. Since you are quite petite, MFP will assume that your maintenance calories excluding exercise are also relatively low (judging by your profile picture you may already be at a healthy weight). So lets say MFP thinks your maintenance cals are 1400, but you choose a rate of loss of 1 lb/week, which should give you a 500 cal deficit from your maintenance number. 1400-500 = 900 but MFP won't go that low (and shouldn't), so it gives you the default 1200. That's only a 200 cal deficit from your maintenance, and a weekly deficit of 200x7 = 1400. If those hypothetical numbers I wrote were accurate, and your diary is showing that you are above target by 2600, it is possible that you could actually gain slightly this week. What is your current weight and how much weight are you trying to lose? Did you select 1 lb/week as your rate of loss? If you have less than 20 lbs to lose then 0.5 lb/week would be appropriate.

    Secondly - your statement that you shouldn't gain is based off the assumption that you are logging accurately. Are you using a food scale for weighing all solid foods? A lot of people underestimate the amount of calories they are actually eating so again, if you are underestimating AND you are exceeding your goal, it's possible that you could gain.

    That said - it really isn't good to obsess over the numbers on a daily/weekly basis. It is the trend over time that matters. Make sure you have reasonable goals, that you are logging accurately, and be consistent. These are the most important things for long term success, in my opinion.



    Kinda along these lines, as a 128.5lb 59" tall female of 30yrs, a BMR (like laying still in a coma, not TDEE where any activity is included - strictly life-functions) value could be very near 1350 cals/day (~9450/wk)... and your "target" intake is already set below your BMR.

    You shouldn't have any worries on gaining weight with what you're eating, quite the opposite since you have other activity beside laying in bed all day.

    Frankly, I'd be more worried about the state of charge on your phone (well, that and the worry of digesting useful bits of your body from excessive calorie deficit by trying to rush your weight loss ...) With your BMI around 26 at this point, you're naught but 5lbs into the "overweight" classification, which means that you already look fantastic! ... and your 8-stone goal weight does place you squarely in the "healthy" range of the BMI scale (~22.7).
  • DeanneScott2
    DeanneScott2 Posts: 28 Member
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    Just a question about the 3500 over a week you can gain. Would this figure change depending on your size? I was just thinking it could be less for a smaller person?
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    DeanneScott2 wrote: »
    Just a question about the 3500 over a week you can gain. Would this figure change depending on your size? I was just thinking it could be less for a smaller person?

    I guess it would depend on how you look at it. If 3500 calories over maintenance is required to gain a pound, then it's 3500 calories for you and I, regardless of size. But the amount of total calories involved is substantially different. So if I had a maintenance amount of 2000 calories a day, and 14,000 calories a week - 17,500 calories one week would have me gain a pound (roughly).

    If someone bigger maintains on 3000 calories a day and 21,000 calories a week - 24,500 calories one week would have the person gain a pound.
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    edited December 2016
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    DeanneScott2 wrote: »
    Just a question about the 3500 over a week you can gain. Would this figure change depending on your size? I was just thinking it could be less for a smaller person?
    The 3500 calorie per pound thing is quite old and is a reasonable (IMHO) rule of thumb, even if it's not entirely accurate.
    • Calories (kcal) are a measure of heat energy (the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1°C) and as such, independent of who/what is expending/storing/transforming that energy.
    • In 1958, Max Wishnofsky, MD, calculated that 1 lb of fat stores approximately 3,500 kcal of energy (Wishnofsky M. Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1958;6(5):542-546)

    So, this rule of thumb does not vary much in relation to a person's size, going strictly by the fat-energy, but people do have differing processing/conversion efficiencies, and more importantly, weight-loss is not only fat-loss but rather the loss of other body constituents along with some fat.

    (consider that a pound of meat stores far fewer calories than fat, and water carries none, so if your weight-loss includes muscle or water, the 3500cal/lb rule of thumb becomes less accurate. -- MFP doesn't list calories for a pound of human muscle, but you get the idea.)
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    standenvernet wrote: »
    So, this rule of thumb does not vary much in relation to a person's size, going strictly by the fat-energy, but people do have differing processing/conversion efficiencies, .

    What this means is that if 2 people eat 3,500 calories of the same food, 1 may burn 500 calories to process it and 1 may burn 250, so the actual net calories added to their weight would be different.

    Also, it does depend on what the 3500 calories are. Counter-intuitive, but 3500 calories of celery will add more weight than 3,500 calories of chicken. As chicken is higher in protein, it is harder to digest so less will be added to weight. Maybe harder to digest is the wrong term, but protein has a higher thermic effect of food at up to 30%. So up to 30% of the calories in a chicken breast are burned to digest it. I don't have the number for celery, but am thinking it is 5-10%.

    Not arguing against the rule of thumb at all, but just why it isn't a hard and fast rule.

    But, to the question, size of the person isn't a big factor, if any factor at all.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    DeanneScott2 wrote: »
    Just a question about the 3500 over a week you can gain. Would this figure change depending on your size? I was just thinking it could be less for a smaller person?

    The only thing that would change would be your maintenance calories. A smaller person would have lower maintenance calories than a larger person...

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